


The Skulk in the Leaves

by SheepyPeanut



Category: Naruto
Genre: "major character death" is borderline, (lots of foxes), (that's probably the only good description for this thing), Animal Transformation, Crack Taken Seriously, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, Foxes, Gen, In which Kurama accidentally adopts Team 7, Kakashi is best older brother/dad, Multiple POV Characters, Naruto doesn't know or care about the rules of the Narutoverse, Team Bonding, Team as Family, The Author has no idea what she's doing, and there is lots of team cuddling, as in mostly canon deaths, but I included it anyway, but she isn't sorry, it starts dark but it gets better, more angst than you'd expect, or things that aren't what they seem, things are gonna get weird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-22 01:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8268172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheepyPeanut/pseuds/SheepyPeanut
Summary: Naruto is very good at breaking all known laws of the universe, especially while worried and/or scared for his precious people. So when the mission to Wave goes more wrong than it should have, Naruto, attempting to heal his teammates, manages to screw Kyuubi's seal up completely, fall onto the border between Seen and Unseen, forge a connection, and nothing will ever be the same again.By which we mean he accidentally turns himself and his entire team into foxes themselves. Even the silliest of situations, though, have far-reaching consequences, and in the world of ninja, nothing will ever quite be what it seems.





	1. london bridge

Let's start with-

* * *

 -this wasn't a C-ranked mission, even if it was supposed to be, and hadn't been one for days, and Team Seven, barely a team at all, is on a bridge in the Wave. They have fought four missing nin, fought a swordsman and his tool. They have protected a bridge builder. They have been baptized by fire, and then they see fire, blood, a broken bridge,  _Naruto_ sees fire, blood, shattered pieces, and this can't be right, no, no, he can't let this happen he can't let this happen now not now not now-

-no, instead let's start with-

* * *

-Naruto had never had a team before. When he figured out he'd get one on becoming a ninja, he was at first excited, then apprehensive, then excited again. Sure, the super-cool ninjas didn't seem to need to work with teams, and Naruto wasn't going to be someone who needed to work with a team- he could do everything all on his own! But at the same time, a lot of teams seemed like pretty good friends, and Naruto could use some pretty good friends. He didn't have too many of those.

Iruka-sensei, when Naruto had asked, had said that teams were like families. Naruto _definitely_ didn't have much of that at all.

So even if he didn't need a team, part of Naruto was pretty excited for when he got one. Of course, that was after the first attempt at the graduation exam. By attempt number three, he was just excited to graduate- he had to get going if he wanted to be Hokage, after all! Old Man Hokage couldn't hold onto that hat forever! Even if he didn't know anyone in his class all that well, he could totally get a good team! Maybe he'd even get on Sakura's team- she was pretty mean to him now, sometimes, but he just  _knew_ that she was a good person! She'd been nice to him, once, and he really wanted to be friends with her again. She was also very pretty! Maybe he could reconnect with Kiba, or Choji or Shikamaru- Naruto had sort of been friends with Kiba at one point, too, and Choji and Shikamaru mostly liked to hang out with each other but were in trouble a lot so Naruto saw them a lot...

He wound up getting half his wish, as is, by this point, well known. He got Sakura- a fact that Naruto internally cheered for- but this essentially was balanced out by the Bastard. Naruto just didn't  _get_ Uchiha Sasuke. His jounin-sensei, Hatake Kakashi, was also kind of a problem- he read porn and was late all the time. For a few hours, Naruto wondered if this team thing that was supposed to be a family that was supposed to be his friends was that great at all.

But they acted like a team, they passed the bell test! Sure, they had trouble being a team again soon after, but Naruto had never had a team before, and maybe this was how they were supposed to act?

Naruto had never had a team before, but this one was  _his._

That didn't mean he could stand doing that many more C-ranks with them, though. He wanted to learn things! They all wanted to learn things! And the best way to do that, Naruto thought, was by experience. So he'd badgered the Old Man Hokage for a C-rank and no that meant this was all his fault no no no no  _no_ he had to change something he'd never had a team before he was only just starting to have one now he couldn't lose it he had to do something had to-

-no, no, skip elsewhere, start somewhere new-

* * *

-Gato was, in short, a bastard with too much control over the world around him, or at least, a bastard who thought he had too much control over the world around him and decided to break it for fun. For a moment of reflection, still bathed in baptism by fire, Naruto thought:  _I wouldn't have minded being the one to kill him_ , thinking of Haku and Zabuza and the pain around him and the feeling of rage and helplessness that surfaced every time he tried to take a breath. 

Gato had cheated.

Gato, it seems, had known that killing Tazuna alone wasn't going to be good enough. He wanted to crush every remaining hope that anyone could build a bridge, so he'd waited. He'd waited until the bridge was half-done, then he planned to kill Tazuna there. He'd clearly planned to allow hope to build up and then crush it in whatever way he could. But Gato had hired one more ninja. The man was murdered before the story began, or at least, that was the best anyone could guess, but how else did Gato get the explosive tags that lined the underside of the bridge?

Kakashi should have noticed. No- he couldn't blame this on Kakashi-  _he_ should have noticed. But it had been timed well, and when Gato stormed the bridge to kill the very ninja he'd hired, he'd initially told his hired muscle to set off the charges as he left. Except, well, he hadn't left- he'd died. So, somewhere in the background, as Kakashi laid Zabuza's body by Haku's, someone with the final pieces to set off the explosive charges-

As Naruto laid in a place still bathed in fire, he thought:  _I wouldn't have minded being the one to kill him_ , but also:  _why am I awake when the rest of my team is-_

-no no no, not the right tone, not yet, start again-

* * *

-Naruto, when he was a baby, long before he could remember, had parents. They'd probably loved him, he thought, which was a large part of the reason he wished he knew who they were. He knew they'd died when the Kyuubi had attacked, and it had given him one good reason to hate the beast, even if he could sit back and wonder why the creature had attacked in the first place if he thought long enough. Many animals seemed to hate him, but the rare fox in the woods around Konoha that wasn't chased away (or perhaps kept away by the lingering scent of the Kyuubi), they'd only stared, made an odd screaming sound, and left behind.

Now that he knew why, he couldn't shake the feeling. He had plenty of reasons to hate the fox, like the reason when he opened his eyes in smoke, barely perched on a part of the bridge that hadn't collapsed. Say what you will about him, but Tazuna was a good bridge builder. He'd built a strong structure, and they hadn't sunk into the waves- none of this would be happening if he had just  _drowned_ , someone in Konoha would probably cheer that at least he'd drowned while blaming him for

three

broken

bodies

and he had one more reason to hate the fox sealed in his gut when he could feel his skin stitching burns together and a chakra that wasn't altogether his knitting him back together when, by all accounts, his team-

-he had never had a team before now but this one was  _his_ -

-and Team Seven was on a bridge in the Wave but it wasn't a C-rank at all-

-he thought:  _I wouldn't have minded being the one to kill him if it hadn't meant someone set off-_

 _-_ no, no,  _no_ -

* * *

-and he'd met a girl in the woods, or at least, someone he'd thought was a girl, except her name had turned out to be Haku, and Haku had turned out to be a boy. He had told him that the strongest a shinobi could be was when they were protecting their precious people. Haku, who had died protecting her precious person. And Haku and Zabuza had been lain side by side and weren't so terrible at all in the end.

And suddenly, Naruto understood.

He had to keep them alive.

He had to make them live.

He had to go back to Iruka-sensei and Hokage-jiji.

And his team- he'd never had a team before but Team Seven was in the Wave and would come home to the Leaf and he certainly hadn't had a family before and he thought he hated the fox but he thought he might have an answer now-

-he struggled to his feet and walked forward and-

* * *

- _this_ is where we start.

Uzumaki Naruto didn't have a family. Uzumaki Naruto didn't have much at all, really, but he had a team now, and on a bridge that was burning in a mission that should have never been and in a disaster that didn't occur across many timelines, he was not going to lose it. Not now. Not ever. And so, with the sudden clarity that only comes from knowing with absolute certainty than one has to do  _something_ , even if that something turns out to be very little at all, he dragged himself to his feet and walked forward, drawing deep into himself.

**BRAT. JAILOR. PERSON I AM GOING TO EAT VERY SOON. WHAT ARE YOU DOING.**

He knew he healed quickly. He didn't know any of the healing arts, true- Naruto had no idea that healing required fine control, a knowledge of anatomy, and very, very precise work. He just knew the team in front of him didn't seem to be breathing anymore. Sasuke's right side was covered in blood. Sakura's head was more red than much else, bleeding across her eyes. Kakashi-  _Kakashi_ -

**BRAT! I HAVE NOT GIVEN YOU ANY KIND OF PERMISSION TO-**

Naruto had only called on the Kyuubi's chakra once before, what could have only been a short time before now (it felt like a lifetime ago at the same time that it felt all too fast). He'd called on it in angry protectiveness. But now, all was a dull roar behind his sheer determination to save  _his_ team.

**HOW ARE YOU STANDING YOU MORONIC CONTAINER YOU HAVE TO STOP OR WE'LL BOTH DIE BEFORE I CAN KILL YOU-**

He wasn't even necessarily aware of the way the seal on his chest was glowing ominously, the red starting to leak into his eyes and the air around him. He just knew this: he'd healed, and his team wasn't, but if he could somehow transfer some of that healing ability to his team, just shove enough of the energy that healed him at his teammates, he had to be able to do  _something_. He continued his march forward, becoming aware of a screaming voice in the back of his head.

**BRAT STOP PULLING YOU CAN'T- BRAT-**

He spoke.

"Kakashi-sensei said that those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Step. "And this is my team." Step. "Sasuke stepped in front of an attack for me." Step. "Sakura was kind to me once." Step. "Kakashi- it almost looks like he-" He has to pause for a moment. "It looks like he tried to take the force of the blast." Step. His voice is almost glowing, which is an odd quality for a voice that was busy sounding like knives and pain and determination to have. He kneeled stock-still between the still bodies of his teammates, his feet scraping Kakashi's, his hands pressed out to touch small parts of Sasuke and Sakura. No one would be left behind.

**YOU- OH NO. YOU FUCKING MORON YOU HAVE TO STOP-**

"So I am going to try to save them. They're not going to die without me! Either they'll all come here, or I'll follow them trying!"

 **-THIS MUST BE WHY I CAN TALK TO YOU, TO STOP YOU FROM ATTEMPTING THE IMPOSSIBLE AND GETTING US KILLED** **-**

Naruto tuned the voice, which could only be the Kyuubi, and could only be lying, out.

He thought of the place where the chakra that healed him resided and  _pulled._

"BELIEVE IT!"

* * *

The air itself was said to freeze in place. The entire Wave, capable of someday becoming a shinobi or not, could feel  _something_ echoing and shattering and tearing and rending and beyond, far beyond, something across the borders of all, something that shifted the very chakra around four people, something that was well and truly _impossible_. A mob, previously forming around the burning bridge, froze. The day the bridge burnt would also, in the Wave, be known as a day yokai and kami would forever walk, their appearances less veiled than they'd been before. Where Tazuna's bridge had been, they built a torii. Years later, someone would realize exactly why- the mission reports Konoha got, after all, would be understandably disjointed, and no one would really understand what Naruto had done for some time yet.

They could, however, understand the great wind that swirled away the fire, leaving only a burnt circle. They could understand the powerful, powerful instincts that would keep them away from the bridge, far enough that it was impossible to determine what had really happened, for as the original shock of chakra faded, a powerful, oppressive presence fell around the burnt circle in the center of a burnt away bridge. There was no one there willing to try to pierce the sheer amount of demonic chakra, after all, that surrounded the apex of whatever had happened.

Something strange.

Something new.

Something impossible.

* * *

 **...WHAT HAVE YOU _DONE_?**  

Naruto's eyes were blank. He felt blind, but he could feel it- three presences in front of him, equally drained of chakra but irreversibly connected to him and undeniably alive. He swayed on his paws, but he was undeniably happy, and his tail was perked with pride even as it sank with his energy.

He swayed twice more before hitting the surface of the bridge, blacking out.

And, where four ninja should have been, there were four foxes lying across the ground. One, collapsed, a typical red fox if it weren't for the strange deep-red markings around his eyes. One, completely pitch black. One, a mottled, black-and-silver-and-red cross with (if one were to look) mismatched eyes, twice the size of the younger ones. One, a rare, white-pink color. All of them are completely healed, simply exhausted. All of them will wake up. All of them have the same strange marking on their chest, as though bringing together the four quarters would make a whole.

**...I...**

**...**

One last creature made a decision. None of them would wake up for two hours, and in that time, the same aura of  _other_ and of  _yokai_ kept the people of the Wave at bay.

Besides, they got busy in their own way, dealing with the aftermath, comforting a bridge builder, determining how to fix a power vacuum. Only Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami wondered too much for the ninja on the bridge. Most assumed they'd burnt with Gato. They needed to determine a new bridge location now. Why should they worry?

* * *

Here is one thing to worry about: four ninja wake up two hours with tails and a lot lower to the ground than they're used to. After calmly attempting to dismiss the non-existent genjutsu, they do the only appropriate thing.

Freak the hell out.

* * *

(They don't know how much things have just changed. They don't know nothing will ever be the same again. They don't know what just happened. They don't hear the laughing voice of a fading place just beyond the borders of what they can see. They don't understand what just interfered. But that's okay- they don't need to, for now. No one does.

It's just- they don't know that nothing will ever be the same. They'd do a lot more than panic, I suppose, if they did.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably apologize for the weird tone of this first chapter, which will probably not match the next few chapters. The next few chapters will probably be more appropriately silly.
> 
> I haven't even watched or read Naruto anyway, why is this happening. (Answer: I read a few crossovers then I read a few fics to get an idea of whether I'd like the series and was immediately hit in the face with my favorite thing, found families, in the typical "Team 7 gets their act together" fic. Add in my preference for strange crack-ish concepts and eventually taking them seriously, then...)
> 
> As mentioned, I don't know as much about Naruto as someone who is actually a member of the fandom who's actually looked at the media in question does (why am I doing this to myself), so if I break any rules, treat too much fanon as canon, or forget how the story goes too much (other than the thing Naruto does at the beginning that screws everything up), tell me and I'll tell you if I just didn't know or knew and elected to ignore it.


	2. renewed return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember what I said about the appropriate response to turning into a fox for no apparent reason being freaking out? Yeah. A lot of that happens, because hey, if a ninja can't freak out about being a fox when they're supposed be dead, then what is a ninja doing in life? Nothing correctly, that's for certain.

For a time, four ninja don't dream, since dreams don't come easy while unconscious. Then they do, and a different being lowers themselves into subconciousnesses. They've done what they can. Now it is only time to wait.

Wait, and see what has come of their supreme gamble.

* * *

 Sakura had not expected to wake up.

For a still-somewhat-civilian child of a mere twelve, it had been a sobering realization as the world seemed to slow down, as the telltale rush of air, as the momentary kiss of fire spread across the bridge:  _this is where I am going to die._ No, sobering wasn't the right word- abjectly terrifying was a bit more accurate. They'd only had a moment of warning, but that moment had, at the time, felt like an eternity. She'd shouted something- what it was didn't really matter- and had somewhat uselessly tried to shield herself with her arms, shield both herself and the fallen body of Sasuke, unable to think to do anything else in the face of such an absolutely certain death. Then there had been pain.

Sakura had never expected to wake up, and was, in fact, fairly certain she had died. 

There was one problem with this. It took her several moments of shocked, fuzzy thought to realize the main problem with being able to think that she had died- she was thinking at all. She was also in a decent amount of pain. She felt as though several thousand needles were poking her from the inside, actually, which, though it took her a moment to think through the fog to realize this, probably meant that she wasn't dead.

She couldn't get her eyes to open. She hoped Sasuke was okay. Sasuke... what would he even think of her? She'd frozen, tried to use her arms to guard against an explosive blast, and if Kakashi-sensei hadn't gotten in front of them, she wouldn't have blocked anything at-

-Kakashi. Oh. No. She tried to fight through the pain and numbness. Sasuke probably already thought her useless, but the thing that motivated her further was the horrifying realization that if she thought she'd been dead, she hadn't taken all of the explosion. And Sasuke- he'd still been somewhat incapacitated. She'd been dead weight.

She was, in other words, completely and totally useless this entire time, and it hurt like  _hell_. She had all of the shinobi rules perfectly memorized, a textbook-perfect academy stance, nearly perfect chakra control- but she'd been totally useless when a real fight had started. No wonder Sasuke-kun always looked at her like she was the dirt on the bottom of his shoes. No wonder he had only just started to look at her differently. It would be no wonder if everyone started looking at her in the same way.

She resolved to cut her hair, dimly, somewhere in the back of her head, somewhere in the part that wasn't desperately trying to pick her up again through whatever the horrendous feeling throughout her limbs was, somewhere in the part that wasn't chanting  _useless, useless_!

Pain spiked through her back.

She blacked out again.

* * *

Sasuke saw red spinning eyes.

"Get stronger, little brother. No one who will kill me can be killed by a simple explosion."

Sasuke saw dripping red walls.

"You can't even open your eyes through the pain? Aw, little brother, I know you can do better than  _that._ You have to come kill me at some point, after all!"

Sasuke felt a numb sort of pain travel through his already aching body. He'd barely been aware for the explosion, but he'd been aware enough. But now that he was trapped behind his own vision, refusing to clear, his mind filled in the blanks. He could almost imagine Ita- that man, carefully pushing Sasuke's hair out of his face, trying his best to feed Sasuke any and all appropriate medication. And then-

"-I have to help you get stronger so-"

The walls, streets, people drip red.

"-you can kill me."

Sasuke just wanted to black out again, but unlike Sakura, the pain and the shift and the change were not enough for him. He'd had enough of it. So he stayed awake, if not aware. He remained burning. He remained listening. His vision was grey and red.

* * *

When coming into awareness again, a ninja should do several things. First: how did they get to where they were? Kakashi thought- he'd thrown himself in front of an explosion in a desperate hope not to be the reason his team was dead again. That shouldn't have worked, and he knew with absolute certainty that he should be dead. (He cursed himself for somehow failing to notice before it was too late, for assuming security when he should have known better by far.)

Second: take inventory of himself and the surroundings. Figuring out what his surroundings were was going to be difficult, given that he couldn't seem to get his eyes to see anything. This was, naturally, a terrible sign, as was the prickling, needling feeling throughout his body. The ground- or at least what he could feel through the numbness and needling- was rough and hot, but compared to how he should be feeling, he wasn't warm himself. He didn't feel like he was burning, after all, anywhere but the center of his chest.

Chakra. He needed to consider how much chakra he had. It was... low. Very low. No wonder he couldn't begin to imagine how to stand up. And it was... also where the prickling was coming from? This wasn't familiar. This needed to be considered further. He needed to open his eyes.

He needed to open his eyes.

And then he was going to need to train. He was behind. He was complacent. He never should have allowed himself to get that way. After all, he knew better than anyone that the war was never over, and anyone could die at any time. He supposed he was just trying not to get attached.

Moron. Should have been getting attached from the beginning. Should have been teaching them better from the beginning. Should have, should have, should have- what familiar words.

He was about to pass out again too, wasn't he? Chakra was too weird right now for him not to. Damn.

* * *

Naruto woke up dizzy and confused, with vague images of caves and cages and water and forests and burrows and the <i>Elsewhere</i> tickling the edges of his mind, too far away to really touch.

"Did it work?" he asked. The world around him was blurry. His head was swimming. No one answered back, and his voice sounded... wrong. He couldn't place  _why_ it sounded wrong, but it definitely did. Weird. He tried to sit up, but immediately started falling again. His balance was all wrong, too. Also weird. He hoped he hadn't done anything too awful. He hoped he succeeded. He hoped he figured out why he felt weird and empty and connected and dizzy all at once soon enough, here, because as it currently stood he was pretty confused and felt a bit like he'd been hit by a truck.

"Come on, guys," he said, trying to make out through the blurry shapes the- not bodies not bodies the- the _shapes_ of his team. He couldn't see anything big enough- or maybe he could? He couldn't see anything that looked vaguely shaped right. But- but maybe whatever was near him was breathing, even if they weren't answering? He felt fuzzy and heavy and wrong, though, so he might not be seeing things right, but he didn't want to think that he wasn't seeing things right so who cared, he was fine, he was fine-

-back up.

Fuzzy?

His head was fuzzy, sure, but he felt weirdly... physically fuzzy, too... He blinked rapidly and looked down at his paws to try to-

-orange. Fuzzy.

"WHAT THE HELL?" he scrambled up, tripping over himself as he did, only to naturally start to fall back towards all fours. He pawed at his head several times and there were ears? And there was- his butt felt weird and if _that was a tail his day was officially the worst,_ could jutsu even do this without warning? He had no idea! He'd been kicked out of that class (which had been TOTALLY WORTH IT for the look on that awful teacher's face for the pain bombs but _he digressed_ )! He was fuzzy! And orange! He could appreciate the orange but the fuzzy, he was a lot less certain about the fuzzy here! The fuzzy was bad!

"WHY AM I FURRY?" he shouted. He blinked. His vision was clearing up and- "WHY ARE  _THEY_ FURRY?" Because, while he wouldn't otherwise be able to recognize him, something deep within his chest knew instantly that the foxes laid out in front of him were his team, and they were breathing and alive and they were his team, and also they were foxes? That couldn't be understated enough. They were literally foxes. They were  _tiny_ compared to the scorch marks from the explosion, too. They were... they were lying there, breathing, and only Naruto was awake, and he really wanted to start panicking again but all he could think was that three relatively unharmed foxes were better than the scorched... burnt... gods, he remembered the  _smell_...

He sat back down. "Did I do this?" he finally wondered.

 **WHAT DO YOU THINK, MORON** , a voice responded.

"Aah!"

 **SHUT UP. YOU'RE MAKING MY HEAD HURT.** Instinctively, Naruto looked down. The markings on his chest were there, but they looked... funny. He hadn't seen them very often, but they looked like they might be the wrong shape. They looked like they were glowing. He carefully maneuvered his paw to touch them, and they were burning hot. Funny; something looked wrong there, but he wasn't hurting at all.

"You're the fox, right?" Naruto said, and something burned in him.

 **YES. YOU COULD TALK QUIETER. I CAN BARELY HEAR OVER THIS NOISE,** the fox responded.

"Why should I listen to you?" Naruto said. He backed up a few paces, just so that the fox was further from the rest of his team-

 **TOO LATE FOR THAT, BRAT,** the fox said before Naruto could finish his thought. 

"Agh! I mean- I have to listen to you if you're talking! I mean! Why should I be quieter, huh? You killed a buncha people!"

 **I'M A DEMON, BOY,** the fox said.  **AND I WAS A BIT... HM. _MIFFED._ RIGHT NOW I JUST HAVE A FUCKING HEADACHE THOUGH SO SHUT UP OR I MIGHT GET _MIFFED_ AGAIN.** And though the tone of voice barely changed, somehow, it sounded like a roar in Naruto's head. He winced. He was getting a headache too.

"I'm a fox too right now, ya'know! So's the rest of my team! So get talking! I'm not getting quiet until you do!" This was... a little bit of a bluff. Naruto honestly didn't know what the fox could do to him. He hadn't even known it could talk? So if it started really hurting him, he was going to have to shut up and take whatever it started to do. But he wasn't gonna tell the fox that! And he really wanted to know what was going on, anyway. Only reason he wasn't panicking more was because it was probably his fault and also he just... didn't feel panicky. Not really. Not in comparison to knowing everyone was at least alive. That was what mattered most, right? It'd suck for them to get the kind of treatment he got, being foxes and all, but maybe it'd be better.

 **I'M ALREADY TALKING, STUPID BRAT,** the fox said.  **LET ME GET RID OF THIS HEADACHE FIRST.** The fox's voice was gruff, but oddly quiet now. Naruto almost thought this was the fox _exhausted_ , which was... hilarious. Actually hilarious. 

 **SHUT IT.**  

He couldn't stop thinking! He was actually being quiet now, honest! He glanced back over his teammates. They were unconscious, but restless. That was... a good sign, right...? It meant... he felt something deep. He heard Kurama growl. He didn't know what to think. His chest hurt, and he still felt weirdly empty.

**YEAH, YOU'RE STUCK WITH LESS CHAKRA NOW. YOU CAN PROBABLY DO SOME OTHER STUFF TOO. DOESN'T MAKE YOU LESS OF A SHITTY BRAT.**

"Stop answering stuff I'm just thinking! It's creepy!" Although, less chakra? Man! He wondered if he could still do all his jutsu if he didn't have as much- "can I still use jutsu like this?"

**WHY DO I CARE?**

"You said you'd talk!"

**YEAH, THAT WAS MORE TO GET YOU TO SHUT UP.**

"Asshole!"

**DEMON, BRAT. HEH.**

"Why are we all foxes?" Naruto finally asked.

 **THAT WAS BASICALLY ALL YOU,** the demon said. It was growling again. Naruto felt... prickly. He could smell how restless his teammates were getting. Maybe one of 'em would wake up soon? That'd be nice.

"Then why foxes?" Naruto continued.

 **YOU SCREWED WITH THE SEAL,** the fox responded.

"Then why does it feel like you  _did_ something?"

 **HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?** Naruto just crossed his arms, though he didn't know why he knew. He thought it had to do with how connected he felt. It was just... he felt  _different_.  _Shared._ And that was... kinda scary... but it couldn't have all been him, he figured, and he'd probably be freaking out more if it was. Or something. He didn't know. It was just kinda... instinctive or something.

**BUT YEAH, I DID SOMETHING. SAVED YOUR LIFE, WHICH ONLY COINCIDENTALLY SAVED YOUR TEAMMATES. DON'T EXPECT ME TO DO THAT AGAIN, YOU HEAR, BRAT?**

"Why'd you do that?" Naruto said. He paused. "Uh... thanks though."

**I WOULD HAVE DIED TOO. I WOULD HAVE LEFT YOU TO DIE OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW.**

"Still," Naruto said. "Thanks, I guess. You still suck, but... ugh. I didn't want anyone to die. I woulda been fine, I think, with it being myself, but then someone mighta been sad, so... thanks."

 **STUPID BRAT,** muttered the fox, and Naruto didn't know why, so he just started staring back over his teammates, slowly swinging his tail. He didn't know how much longer he'd have to wait, but Kakashi especially smelled and felt like he'd wake up soon. Naruto would be more worried about the smell thing, but it wasn't that new. He'd be more worried about the fox thing, but what was the point? Figures if he did something like this, there'd be consequences, and it wasn't like he hadn't shapeshifted before. This was just on a bigger scale.

Instead, keeping a careful eye on his team, he started experimenting, trying to figure out how to move and run. At least Kyuubi was quiet now, so Naruto didn't have to worry about that. He was pretty sure the fox was still listening, though, and he was pretty sure the fox had still done something. He just wished he knew what exactly the beast had done to save his life (if only so he knew what he owed a demon at this point- Naruto Uzumaki might not be _good_ at it, but when people were good to him, he always tried to repay it.)

(There were too few people who were not to.)

* * *

"You're awake! Man, am I glad! I was starting to get hungry, and bored, and I think I cut my tail somehow but I dunno how to reach it yet. Also, I think I just figured out that I'm talking kinda like a ninja animal, and not like a fox, 'cause if I was talking like a fox I wouldn't be so loud?"

"Slower, Naruto," said Kakashi, his voice a little bit weaker than he'd ever wanted it to be in front of his students. "Though yes; I am awake." And confused, as he opened his eyes. The mildly blurry shape in front of him was much too big to be a dog, but shaped rather like one, and orange. Also, Naruto had said something about tails, and Kakashi was... confused. Tails were a... mildly terrible sign, given that Naruto was a Jinchuuriki, but...  

"Uh... okay, so before you can see better, I'd just like to really apologize and say I'm sorry a whole bunch 'cause I wasn't thinking, I was just trying to save your life, so I really didn't mean to do this," Naruto continued. He was still rambling. Now, however, Kakashi was significantly more concerned. Naruto was trouble enough when he'd meant to cause trouble. Kakashi could only imagine what Naruto could accidentally do. "Oh! And- and it smells like Sakura and Sasuke are about to wake up too! I'm- I'm so glad," sniffled Naruto. Something about the boy's sniffles was off, though. Same with his voice.

He blinked away the last of the blur in his vision and looked in front of him. He stared for a long moment. Where was Naruto? He saw an abnormally large fox, which meant that maybe... he stopped. Considered. "Kakashi-sensei? Are you there? Hello?" said Naruto- said the fox- there was a low rumble somewhere in the back of Kakashi's head for a moment while Naruto's tail flicked up irritably- he reconsidered and reevaluated himself.

"Naruto," said Kakashi slowly, "why are you a fox."

"I... don't know?" said Naruto, squeaking slightly over the words.

"Why am  _I_ a fox."

"Uh- that one I'm... I'm slightly more sure about. I think it's my fault, 'cause I tried to save your life." He looked so guilty that Kakashi couldn't keep yelling nearly as much as he'd planned to. "I'm really sorry! But I bet it's not all bad, right? It can't be that awful! I can already run around really fast and stuff and I know my chakra's there so if I just think hard enough-"

"Naruto," Kakashi said, "that's enough." Naruto  _whimpered_. "You are giving me a headache." There was a deep rumbling somewhere in the back of Kakashi's head while Naruto pouted.

"I so don't give everyone headaches," he said. His tail was drooped low, though. Naruto, Kakashi mused, had enough trouble hiding his emotions without a tail giving half of them away. Kakashi would have to work on the tail too, of course, depending on how permanent this proved to be. He could properly panic later, though. Naruto clearly still felt awful, whether he admitted it or not, and nothing was going to change now, not with the black and the pink fox- Kakashi presumed they must be Sakura and Sasuke- still passed out. The first priority would have to be Naruto.

"Naruto, I'm fine," Kakashi said.

"Are you sure?" Naruto said. "Because- 'cause- 'cause you were  _dead_! And I know I'm not making that up because you smelled awful and there was fire and none of your arms were pointed right and- and I couldn't see your face right and- and-" Naruto started to sniffle loudly. "And I tried really hard and you all are alive but what if I screwed it up?"

"I feel fine, Naruto," Kakashi said, "thank you." Internally, though, he was worried. He hadn't known the sheer  _extent_ of his prior injuries. Whatever Naruto did, it had to have been completely unprecedented. He'd need to do a more proper examination of himself later. "What's our status?"

"There's no one else here," Naruto said, after sniffling one last time. "Um, we all are foxes, and I'm really sorry, but I'm mostly just tired and weird feeling and none of you are super hurt. I've been checking both sides of the bridge, but no one'll come near us, so I think something might have happened? I think we're safe not to move for the time being." He gave a fox-like equivalent to a shrug. "Um... and thanks for not freaking out."

"Maa, I'm just freaking out internally," Kakashi said. And he... kind of was. He was just compartmentalizing, because his student (who he has failed so utterly and completely) is panicking and he  _hasn't_ lost his latest team, but he almost had, so really, this was a second chance he didn't deserved.

"Sensei," said Naruto, irritated but also worried, "don't sound so jokey!"

"It's better than-"

They both froze when a few things happened in short succession. First, Naruto's tail stood straight on end, and he whipped around. At the exact same time, Kakashi felt a shiver sink down his spine, and turned around himself. He'd learned to trust his instincts.

Then, they both heard a whining, keening cry.

"Sakura?" Naruto said, sounding panicked. The pink fox lifted its head, whimpering as she did.

"I- and my head- and my _stomach_ ," whimpered Sakura, and Naruto started to dart towards her at the same time Kakashi did. (Good instincts, Kakashi noted, when it came to the moments it really counted, even when he didn't always show it outside those moments. Then again, he was going to have to change his current evaluation of Naruto, given everything that had happened.)

"Sakura, tell me something more specific," Naruto begged.

"I-" and she whimpered again- "I deserve to be dead," she whispered.

"No!" shouted Naruto.

"No," said Kakashi, a lot quieter, but, to even his own surprise, just as certain.

"But I," Sakura starts, and then she looks away and stops. "What... what happened? Sensei? Naruto? You're alive?" She doesn't get much further than that before a loud gasp to the other side alerts Kakashi and Naruto both to their last teammate waking up.

"Aniki," he gasps, and Kakashi's fur stands on end. Fuck.

"Sasuke!" Naruto says at the same time as Sakura says "Thank the gods, you're all alive anyway." And okay, fuck, Kakashi should have expected it but it sounded like he'd managed to get his entire team _traumatized_  alongside whatever... _this_... was. But they were alive, at least. He wasn't going to have to live with a collection of dead genin in little tiny pieces. He still had _time_.

(This, really, was the crux of why he wasn't more mad.)

"Dobe," Sasuke said, and he was clearly avoiding the issue but it was understandable enough, all things considered. "Why the hell am I small and furry?"

This, apparently, was enough of a distraction for Sakura, too. "What," she said, and Kakashi watched as she blinked before finally properly looking at everyone around her. "WHAT?" she repeated again, somewhat hysterically. " _Naruto..._ " was the first thing she managed to blurt out next, and Kakashi has to stop himself from visibly showing his amusement. He really ought to find a new mask...

"Why do you automatically assume it's my fault, huh?" Naruto responded, and this time, Kakashi doesn't quite stop his tail from swishing slightly with his amusement. 

"Because it normally is," Sakura said. "Spill!"

"...I mean, yeah," Naruto said sullenly, "but you could have some faith!"

"Moron," muttered Sasuke. (He really only speaks in mutters, doesn't he?)

"Hey!" He pouted. "I- I really didn't mean to," he started. "I just... I was scared."

"Scared," repeated Sasuke, incredulous.

"I thought you were dead," said Naruto, "and...my body moved without thinking." 

For a long moment, everyone is utterly silent. Kakashi took the moment to examine his team's faces. It's harder to read them, now that they're foxes, but both Sasuke and Sakura looked rather like they'd be pale as sheets in another time and place and body. Naruto... Naruto looked _sad_ , which was honestly worse. 

Sakura breaks the silence. "But what did you DO?"

"I don't know!" Naruto said. "I tried to heal you! I figured I healed really fast and if I tried hard enough, maybe I could make you all heal really fast, too!"

"That's not how chakra  _works_ , idiot!" Sakura said, frustrated.

"How was I supposed to know that?" Naruto responded.

"We're small animals now," Sakura said, mildly hysterically, "and that's  _not how chakra works!_ "

"Change me back," Sasuke demanded.

"If I knew how to," Naruto said, "I probably would, except you're being a bastard, so maybe not." He stuck out his tongue. Kakashi thought it was somewhere between adorable and hilarious. He had such cute little genin, even as small furry animals.

" _Naruto_ ," hissed Sasuke.

"I really don't know how," Naruto added, "but I figure we can figure it out, if we have to!"

"What am I going to tell my  _mom_ ," despaired Sakura.

"Or the Hokage," Kakashi added, just to see how everyone reacted.

"Jiji's gonna be so  _mad_ ," Naruto moaned. "I made everyone foxes forever, and Jiji's gonna be- Iruka-sensei! What will Iruka-sensei think? Oh," said Naruto, placing his paws over his eyes and dramatically sweeping to the ground.

"Did you have to make it hurt so much?" Sakura complained.

"I don't know," Naruto said, "but I was trying to heal everyone!"

"Good job," Sasuke said, dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey!" Naruto said. "You all are alive, huh?"

"And not much else," said Sasuke.

"It's better than- it's just better!" Naruto said, and no one had a counter argument for that.

"You're still an idiot," Sasuke said.

"Agreed," Sakura said.

"Guuuuuuys," Naruto said, and then there was a rumbling in the back of Kakashi's head and Sakura and Sasuke simply froze.

"You can't make fun of me too," complained Naruto, "this is at least partially your fault." Kakashi didn't know who Naruto was talking to, but he was beginning to suddenly have a very bad feeling. "You wouldn't have a headache if you didn't keep reading my thoughts, huh? You could just sleep or something instead of being such a mean furball!"

"...Naruto," Sakura said. "Who is that?"

Naruto abruptly stopped moving altogether.

"Naruto," Sakura said, a little more panicked. "Who is that?"

"Do you hear it too," Naruto said, and Sasuke and Sakura both slowly nodded. "Can- asshole, can you just- say something- anything- please-"

There was a dull rumbling in the back of Kakashi's head.

"Did you both hear it that time too?" Naruto asked. He sounded panicked.

"Far away," Sasuke said slowly. "Naruto, what..."

"Oh," Naruto said, and his voice was very small, and Kakashi knew instantly that nothing would be the same again. "It's the- it's the Kyuubi," he continued, bravely, before immediately curling deep into himself. "That's what he did."

The rumbling sounded a little like laughter, now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've gotten a lot of comments on this recently for some reason, so I... may as well continue? See where it goes? Updates are going to be sporadic as hell but... enjoy?
> 
> Surprise, though: part two of the original premise is right here. I swear, even though it's been months: _this is always where I've been going with this_. If you want off this dumbass train right now, I recommend you go ahead and stop here. Elsewise, prepare for team bonding shenanigans. It's gonna be a Ride.
> 
> (Also, fun fact: there's a _reason_ everyone woke up in the order they did, but that'll be explained in due time.)


End file.
